Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to facilitating social groups, and more particularly to systems and methods for facilitating wagers between users within a social group.
Related Art
With the advent of the internet, online services have become ubiquitous in all aspects of business. Although the internet has simplified many tedious tasks, it has also reduced the enjoyable and social aspects of some of those tasks. Some examples include purchasing tickets for an event. Before online ticket purchasing was available, purchasing tickets for concerts, sporting events, theatre, and so forth would require individuals to travel to an authorized dealer and wait in a line. Sometimes, for a particularly popular event, individuals would camp out at a ticket dealer.
While individuals are still able to buy tickets in person, most prefer to purchase tickets online out of convenience. Purchasing tickets online avoids traveling and lines. However, purchasing tickets online removes opportunities for people to connect. When waiting in line for an exciting event, an engaging social interaction often develops through the shared interest and excitement for the event. For reasons such as boredom and the desire for human interaction, complete strangers in line will often form into small social groups and chat to pass the time. These groups create intimate on-the-fly social interactions that are absent when purchasing tickets online. Purchasing tickets online is generally a lonely and cold experience, especially when there is no one around to share in the excitement. Thus, an opportunity to form camaraderie with strangers through a shared interest is lost.
Furthermore, attending an event usually does not promote the same sort of social interactions that occur when standing in lines. This may be due to several reasons. For example, stadiums and concert halls are generally efficiently planned to pack as many people as possible in a venue. By creating crowded areas, there are too many people in the immediate vicinity to strike up a conversation. Attendees may find striking up a conversation difficult at an event because the crowded environment may be loud. Furthermore, people may give the impression that they are preoccupied because they are facing an arena or a stage.
There are also other factors that cause attending an event to be less conducive for spontaneous social interactions. Events usually play music and other forms of entertainment which removes some of the boredom that may exist in a line. Furthermore, events are usually attended in a group which creates a barrier to social interactions with strangers. In contrast, a single group member will often stand in line on behalf of a group such that the same social barrier does not exist.
In a similar vein, aspects of gambling have also become impersonal since the advent of the internet. For example, people often wager on the outcome of an event, such as a sporting event, to add suspense. Wagering on events can also be a very social affair that can nurture camaraderie among individuals. The process of negotiating betting odds, triggering actions for a wager, and so forth can be very engaging for the participants.
Several websites have enabled gambling on the internet. However, these websites only focus on the monetary aspects of gambling. These websites are designed to efficiently generate income rather than provide a form of entertainment. These websites usually provide limited preset choices of betting options, and bets are often against the house. For example, for a Super Bowl game, these websites may offer limited options for placing wagers. The individual may only have the option to either bet on the winner or the winner within a certain score (as the spread and/or handicap). Furthermore, because all bets are against the house, the house ensures a profit by setting odds against the wagering individuals on any side of a bet. Astute individuals may shy away from such activities when they know that the odds are stacked against them. Furthermore all the normal social interactions that may exist between individuals in person do not exist in online gambling. Individuals are not usually able to wager against each other through these online websites. Online gambling, thus, may leave an individual with a cold and impersonal experience, especially when they lose.
Transitioning many aspects of a business online has also impacted brand loyalty. Brand loyalty often develops through good will and exceptional customer service. Some individuals may be willing to pay more or recommend a brand based on the individual experience with the brand. By conducting businesses online, customer experiences are generally similar across all websites. Businesses may have difficulty in providing a service online that is significantly distinguished from a competitor. So long as a business's website, such as a ticket selling/exchange website, has a clean and intuitive user interface, individuals may not develop loyalty to any one website.
Thus a system and method that brings back some of the social interactions through a common interest would be desirable. Furthermore these features that spur social interactions may make a sufficient impact on customer experiences to improve brand loyalty.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.